Dr. Lex' Informative Section

This page contains some topics that could be classified as “educative”. Sometimes I encounter many people who do not know much about a certain topic, or have wrong ideas about it. Or, people ask me the same questions over and over. I will then try to point them to a good webpage that explains the topic. Obviously if there is no such webpage, my only option is to write it myself. This has resulted in the following collection of articles. Most of these topics are related to the internet and multimedia.

For very small articles or short notes I created a blog as well. Often I will also create a short post to announce an article, feel free to use those announcement posts to comment on the article.

Internet-related Topics

Anti-Spam informationTips to avoid receiving “spam” mail, and how to fight it if you're already being spammed.

Web Graphics and AnimationsHow to choose between graphic formats for webpages and how to make animated GIFs, make 'em look better and optimize them so that they load faster.

Another Reason Not to Buy DRM-Protected iTunes SongsOf course, the main reason not to buy something that has DRM, is DRM itself. But this (now obsolete) page explains why the ‘standard’ 128kbps iTunes songs (i.e. non-‘iTunes Plus’) were to be avoided from a quality point of view as well.

Multimedia-related Topics

Programming volume controlsThis text explains why the volume controls in a lot of software applications are a pain in the ass to work with, and how to implement a good volume control. Also a short part about frequency controls and analysis. A must-read for audio programmers!

Making HDR Photos with Luminance HDRThis is a short explanation of how it is possible to obtain very neat-looking high dynamic range photos from even a relatively cheap compact camera.

Why ‘3D’ Will Fail… AgainBy the time you're reading this, the general public may already be scoffing at the ‘3D’ hype that started around the year 2009. This text explains why, and why I believe there will likely never be perfect 3D cinema.

Just how useful is 2160p aka 4K?Another digital cinema conundrum: should you upgrade your television or projector to 4K resolution? You may want to read this article before you start spending your hard-earned money.

Media Formats ExplainedThis page attempts to shed some light on the difference between multimedia formats, codecs, media players, ... because many people appear to have trouble differentiating between these concepts.

How I Rate MoviesThis is actually just a cheat sheet for myself to remind me how to decide what score I should give when rating a movie on IMDb's 10-star scale. But it would of course be nice if everyone would use the same rating scale.

Basic PunctuationI could only receive that much e-mails with horrible punctuation, before I was no longer able to resist the urge to write this page, so here it is. Five simple rules than can turn a horrible uninviting lump of text into something that will not immediately scare away potential readers.